Kazakhstan’s Senate takes another honorary title from Nazarbayev and gives it to President Tokayev

Members of the Senate, the upper house of the country’s parliament, have approved amendments to a law on professional qualification issues, public decorations, social protection and education. The updated law takes away the honorary title of the chairman of the Supreme Board of Trustees of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools, Nazarbayev University and Nazarbayev Foundation from Ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose name was given to all these educational entities.

«The president of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the only one who can be the chairman of the Supreme Board of Trustees. He also can appoint someone else to serve in this position. At the same time, the provision on the Supreme Board of Trustees should be approved by the chairman of the Supreme Board of Trustees,» a legal opinion on the law says.

The previous version of the 2011 law explicitly stated that Nazarbayev was the only chairman of the board.

In addition, senators approved another clause that designates the current president as the only person who is in charge of the Orken scholarship program for talented students. Under the previous version of the law, this person was Nazarbayev.

Nazarbayev loses his privileges and titles

In January 2023, the Senate took the title of Honorary Senator away from Nazarbayev. In February, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law depriving Nazarbayev of the status of Elbasy (Leader of the Nation) and all the privileges that this law would give the ex-president and his family.

In early June, the minister of finance said that Nazarbayev’s office, which is supported with the help of public funds, would be closed within a month or two.

Nursultan Nazarbayev had ruled Kazakhstan for almost 30 years. In March 2019, he voluntarily resigned from office. Tokayev, who at the time held the position of speaker of the Senate, became the new president of the country. Since then, parliament has passed a series of laws depriving Nazarbayev and his family of special titles and privileges.